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The Truth About Cars is dedicated to providing candid, unbiased automobile reviews and the latest in auto industry news.Sat, 01 Aug 2015 16:11:21 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.2The Truth About Cars is dedicated to providing candid, unbiased automobile reviews and the latest in auto industry news.The Truth About CarsnoThe Truth About Carseditors@ttac.comeditors@ttac.com (The Truth About Cars)2006-2009The Truth About CarsThe Truth About Cars » 1978http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/themes/ttac-theme/images/logo.gifhttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com
Junkyard Find: 1978 Fiat X1/9http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/01/junkyard-find-1978-fiat-x19-3/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/01/junkyard-find-1978-fiat-x19-3/#commentsTue, 20 Jan 2015 14:00:07 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=982969The Fiat X1/9, like the Fiat 124 Sport Spider, is one of those old European cars that hasn’t held its value so well, which means you’ll see plenty of them in the sort of self-service wrecking yards that I frequent. We’ve seen this ’78, this ’78, this ’80 and this ’86 so far in this […]

]]>The Fiat X1/9, like the Fiat 124 Sport Spider, is one of those old European cars that hasn’t held its value so well, which means you’ll see plenty of them in the sort of self-service wrecking yards that I frequent. We’ve seen this ’78, this ’78, this ’80 and this ’86 so far in this series, and now I’ve got another ’78 to show you.Bertone did the design on these things, and Malcolm Bricklin kept bringing Bertone-badged X1/9s in after Fiat retreated from the United States market.The running gear was Fiat 128 stuff, swapped from the front of the 128 to just behind the driver in the X1/9. Power wasn’t much, but the car was quite agile.This one will go to The Crusher with the steering wheel lock still in place.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/01/junkyard-find-1978-fiat-x19-3/feed/42Junkyard Find: 1978 Cadillac Seville Elegantehttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/09/junkyard-find-1978-cadillac-seville-elegante/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/09/junkyard-find-1978-cadillac-seville-elegante/#commentsMon, 29 Sep 2014 13:00:48 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=920513As Aaron Severson explains in great detail in his excellent Ate Up With Motor piece, the 1976-1979 Cadillac Seville (which was essentially a Chevy Nova under the skin), accelerated the long decline of the Cadillac Division that continued with the Cavalier-based Cimarron and didn’t really turn around until Cadillac started building trucks for rappers and […]

]]>As Aaron Severson explains in great detail in his excellent Ate Up With Motor piece, the 1976-1979 Cadillac Seville (which was essentially a Chevy Nova under the skin), accelerated the long decline of the Cadillac Division that continued with the Cavalier-based Cimarron and didn’t really turn around until Cadillac started building trucks for rappers and warlords in the 1990s. Having driven a $50 1976 Nova many thousands of miles, I can assume that ’78 Seville ownership was very similar, though with a plusher interior and (slightly) more engine power. Here’s a brown-on-gold-on-brown-on-yellow-on-ochre-on-umber-on-brown-on-beige-on-copper example that I spotted a few weeks ago in a San Francisco Bay Area wrecking yard.I couldn’t find any figures for the cost of the Elegante option package, but I did learn that the exterior colors on this car were Western Saddle Firemist and Ruidoso Brown.The list price of the ordinary, garden-variety non-Elegante ’78 Seville was $14,267, about 52 grand in 2014 dollars. The top-of-the-line Nova Custom went for $4,220 in 1978 (the 1978 BMW 530 was $14,840 and the 1978 Mercedes-Benz 280E was $16,606, but neither was available in Ruidoso Brown).8-track player, of course. Note the rear-defog and power-antenna switches.This Bendix-injected Oldsmobile 350-cubic-inch V8 made 170 horsepower.It’s probably not a coincidence that Cadillac buyers defected en masse to Mercedes-Benz and BMW about this time (and a few even bought Datsun 810s and Toyota Cressidas). On the plus side, the going rate on a Seville of this era has been down in rusty-Lumina territory for the last 15 years.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/09/junkyard-find-1978-cadillac-seville-elegante/feed/107Junkyard Find: 1978 Porsche 924http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/07/junkyard-find-1978-porsche-924/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/07/junkyard-find-1978-porsche-924/#commentsWed, 16 Jul 2014 13:00:25 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=865002I’ve learned a couple of things about Porsches while working for the 24 Hours of LeMons race series. One is that Internet Car Experts cannot accept the idea that any Porsche might be had for a three-figure price tag, and the other is that 924s and 944s are absolute nightmares to keep running. You can […]

]]>I’ve learned a couple of things about Porsches while working for the 24 Hours of LeMons race series. One is that Internet Car Experts cannot accept the idea that any Porsche might be had for a three-figure price tag, and the other is that 924s and 944s are absolute nightmares to keep running. You can find cheap 924s and 944s all day long, anywhere in the country, and the sellers will be eager to take your offer. I see these cars in cheap self-serve wrecking yards all the time, but seldom do I stop to photograph the things. This time, though, the radiant copper color of this Porsche 924 was just so compelling that I reached for my camera.Back in 1984 or so, I knew a guy who made the leap from small-time cannabis dealer to small-time cocaine dealer. Naturally, he needed a car that would let the world know that he’d arrived, so he ditched his Vega and bought a silver 924. Then he got burned in some sort of deal gone wrong about a month later and had to sell the Porsche in a hurry. I’m sure most 924s have several such owners in their history.You know what other vehicle came with this 2.0 liter SOHC engine? The 1979 AM General DJ-5 Mail Jeep.This one has a fairly solid body, though the interior is bad.Thing is, when your Porsche is worth $900 and the mechanic wants $1,500 to make it run again… well, that’s the story with many once-valuable Junkyard Finds.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/07/junkyard-find-1978-porsche-924/feed/37Junkyard Find: 1978 Toyota Corolla Wagonhttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/05/junkyard-find-1978-toyota-corolla-wagon/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/05/junkyard-find-1978-toyota-corolla-wagon/#commentsMon, 26 May 2014 13:00:27 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=830033The third-gen Corolla was the car that made Toyota in the Unites States; you saw the occasional Corona or Celica and maybe a rare Crown once in a while before the mid-70s, but the 1974-79 Corolla was the first Toyota that sold in sufficient quantity to make the marque an everyday sight on American streets. […]

]]>The third-gen Corolla was the car that made Toyota in the Unites States; you saw the occasional Corona or Celica and maybe a rare Crown once in a while before the mid-70s, but the 1974-79 Corolla was the first Toyota that sold in sufficient quantity to make the marque an everyday sight on American streets. These cars rusted fast east of the Rockies and— once they got to be 15 or so years old— weren’t worth fixing when they got ugly in the non-rusty parts of the country. That makes them fairly rare in junkyards today; in this series so far, we’ve seen this ’76 Corolla liftback and this ’74 Corolla two-door, and that’s about it prior to today’s find.Most cars don’t rust much in single-digit-humidity Colorado, but these cars were very eager oxidizers.The High Plains sun is hard on paint.The 75-horse 2T-C engine was a sturdy, if noisy, pushrod unit.Air-conditioning was a rare option on these cars, because frugal buyers of gas-sippers didn’t mind a little sweat. I’ll bet it felt like someone pulling the parking brake when you activated the cold air in this car.This looks like an aftermarket setup.Rear defrost! Rear wiper! Even most Country Squire owners didn’t get that stuff!

This ad was hitting Chrysler below the belt.

Didn’t Lee Iacocca use the “if you can find a better car, buy it” line a few years later?

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/05/junkyard-find-1978-toyota-corolla-wagon/feed/29Junkyard Find: 1978 Alfa Romeo Spiderhttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/05/junkyard-find-1978-alfa-romeo-spider/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/05/junkyard-find-1978-alfa-romeo-spider/#commentsMon, 19 May 2014 13:00:29 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=825178While Fiat 124 Sport Spiders are commonplace in junkyards, the Alfa Romeo Spider has remained sufficiently valuable that few examples make it to the kind of self-service, high-inventory-turnover wrecking yards I frequent for this series. We’ve seen this ’74 and that’s it prior to today (though I have passed by a few junked Alfa Spiders […]

]]>While Fiat124SportSpidersarecommonplace in junkyards, the Alfa Romeo Spider has remained sufficiently valuable that few examples make it to the kind of self-service, high-inventory-turnover wrecking yards I frequent for this series. We’ve seen this ’74 and that’s it prior to today (though I have passed by a few junked Alfa Spiders that were picked clean before I got there). The Alfa Spider was more expensive than the Fiat Spider when new— in 1978, the Alfa listed at $9,195 (about the same as a new ’78 BMW 320i), while the Fiat cost a mere $6,495 (just a bit more than a Volkswagen Scirocco)— and American Alfa Romeo fanatics have always been more maniacally obsessed than Fiat fanatics. Here’s an unrusted, not-yet-completely-stripped ’78 that I found in a San Francisco Bay Area yard a couple months back.Outdoor storage with no top in Northern California, with its sunny summers and rainy winters, tends to be rough on car interiors, and not much was worth saving out of this Alfa.The 111-horse, 1,962cc Twin Cam engine is still there.The giant 5-mph crash bumpers looked pretty ugly on small cars during the Malaise Era.Spica mechanical fuel injection! This system worked amazingly well given all the moving parts.When I find a rear-wheel-drive Alfa Romeo with any good stuff on it, I always call my friend Conrad Stevenson to see if he needs anything. Conrad runs an amazing Alfa restoration shop in Berkeley, uses a ’58 Fiat 600 Multipla as his parts runner, and races a profoundly terrible (yet fast) Spica-equipped Spider in the 24 Hours of LeMons.Conrad burned rubber right over to this Oakland wrecking yard (in his ’64 Ford Ranchero, which he uses for hauling parts too big for the Multipla) and grabbed the rear end, the transmission, and a bunch of smaller goodies. The Alfa Mafia is strong in the Bay Area, and no doubt many of Conrad’s fellow capos swooped down on this car during the next few days and vultured it down to a bare shell.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/05/junkyard-find-1978-alfa-romeo-spider/feed/17Junkyard Find: 1978 Toyota Celica GThttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/02/junkyard-find-1978-toyota-celica-gt/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/02/junkyard-find-1978-toyota-celica-gt/#commentsMon, 17 Feb 2014 14:00:47 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=742825The first- and second-generation Toyota Celica was to my generation of freshly-minted California drivers (I got my license in 1982) what the early Ford Mustang was to those born a decade earlier: fairly inexpensive and sensible, but still sporty enough to make you feel cool. I drove a ’69 Corona four-door, possibly the uncoolest car […]

]]>The first- and second-generation Toyota Celica was to my generation of freshly-minted California drivers (I got my license in 1982) what the early Ford Mustang was to those born a decade earlier: fairly inexpensive and sensible, but still sporty enough to make you feel cool. I drove a ’69 Corona four-door, possibly the uncoolest car a teenager could own at the time, which was to the Celica in 1982 as the six-cylinder Fairlane sedan was to the Mustang in 1972. These days, of course, all the rear-wheel-drive Celicas are considered worth having… unless they’re in rough condition, in which case they are worth little more than scrap value. Here’s an unrusty-but-still-battered ’78, done up in painfully-late-70s Crisis of Confidence Mustard Yellow, sitting in a Denver self-serve yard.The very sturdy 2.2-liter 20R engine made good torque, as befitted an engine well-suited for hauling Hilux-driving, Soviet-fighting mujahideen over mountain passes. You couldn’t spin the R much, as many LeMons racers have discovered, but it would outlast the rest of a Celica.When did the 5-speed become commonplace enough that it wasn’t worth bragging about via badging?Speaking of badging, can someone explain what these “CARPET” decals on the rear quarter windows mean?The interior is pretty beat, but you can still make out the nothing-like-a-Corolla sportiness here.

Guys with huge Malaise mustaches and earthtone suits knew: ditch the Volaré, get a Celica!

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/02/junkyard-find-1978-toyota-celica-gt/feed/56Junkyard Find: 1978 Ford Fiestahttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/01/junkyard-find-1978-ford-fiesta/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/01/junkyard-find-1978-ford-fiesta/#commentsFri, 03 Jan 2014 14:00:38 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=691874The Ford Fiesta story is an interesting one, with this car being a huge gamble for Ford’s global operations back in the 1970s. This car was intended for the European market from day one, but a fair number of Mk1 Fiestas were sold the United States for the 1978 through 1981 model years (eventually, the […]

]]>The Ford Fiesta story is an interesting one, with this car being a huge gamble for Ford’s global operations back in the 1970s. This car was intended for the European market from day one, but a fair number of Mk1 Fiestas were sold the United States for the 1978 through 1981 model years (eventually, the Mazda-designed/Kia-built Ford Festiva filled the US-market Ford lineup spot vacated by the Fiesta. These cars have been rare to the point of near-extinction for decades now, being disposable cheapo commuters and all, but they do show up from time to time in self-serve wrecking yards. I found this ’78 Fiesta Sport in Denver a couple years back, and last month I spotted today’s find in Northern California.We have a handful of semi-modified Mk1 Fiestas in the 24 Hours of LeMons, and they do pretty well on a road course.These cars had interiors that were no-frills even by Malaise Era subcompact standards.American Fiestas got the 1.6 liter version of the Kent pushrod four, which made 66 horsepower.This one has a Realistic AM/FM radio installed in whatever you call a glovebox with no lid.Do real aviators also drive Fiestas?

0 to 50 in just 8.8 seconds. The fact that they used a 0-50 standard speaks volumes about 1978.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/01/junkyard-find-1978-ford-fiesta/feed/63Junkyard Find: 1978 Dodge Ramchargerhttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/12/junkyard-find-1978-dodge-ramcharger/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/12/junkyard-find-1978-dodge-ramcharger/#commentsWed, 04 Dec 2013 14:00:30 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=670298Even though Denver wrecking yards are always full of old trucks, the Dodge Ramcharger isn’t quite as common as its GM, Ford, and Jeep rivals. In fact, this Royal SE ’83 Ramcharger is the only example we’ve seen in this series, prior to today’s find. This tan Dodge is every bit as Malaise-y as the […]

]]>Even though Denver wrecking yards are always full of old trucks, the Dodge Ramcharger isn’t quite as common as its GM, Ford, and Jeep rivals. In fact, this Royal SE ’83 Ramcharger is the only example we’ve seen in this series, prior to today’s find. This tan Dodge is every bit as Malaise-y as the yellow ’76 Wagoneer we saw last month, so let’s look at these photos and imagine what it was like driving a 9 MPG truck during a period of high inflation and steep gas prices.Tan with brown and orange stripes. I think the library— wait, I mean “media center”— in my junior high school was done up in very similar colors, back in 1979.You don’t want to know what kind of horsepower the 318 (or 360) made in 1978. The torque was enough, let’s leave it at that.At least it has a real transmission.You don’t see many of these engine-coolant heaters these days.It’s a bit rusty, but probably still had some life left.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/12/junkyard-find-1978-dodge-ramcharger/feed/33Junkyard Find: 1978 Subaru Leone 4WD Wagonhttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/11/junkyard-find-1978-subaru-leone-4wd-wagon/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/11/junkyard-find-1978-subaru-leone-4wd-wagon/#commentsFri, 22 Nov 2013 14:00:13 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=661010One thing that makes Colorado wrecking yards different from those in the rest of the country is the large numbers of Subarus in every yard. We’re talking the history of Subaru North America in every yard here. In fact, you’ll see more 1980s and 1990s Leones aka GLs, DLs, and Loyales in a typical Denver-area […]

]]>One thing that makes Colorado wrecking yards different from those in the rest of the country is the large numbers of Subarus in every yard. We’re talking the history of Subaru North America in every yard here. In fact, you’ll see more 1980s and 1990s Leones aka GLs, DLs, and Loyales in a typical Denver-area self-serve yard than you’ll see Corollas or Civics. You’ll also find lots of more recent Legacies and Imprezas, not to mention XTs, BRATs, SVXs, and even the occasional Justy 4WD. 1970s Subarus, however, are getting pretty rare here; in this series, we’ve seen just this ’79 Leone wagon and this ’79 GL sedan so far. Today, we add this very-much-of-its-time ’78 wagon.Back in 1978, your choices in four-wheel-drive vehicles were very limited; you could get a truck, you could get an AMC Eagle that drove like a truck… or you could get a Subaru.These things were ludicrously underpowered, rusted quickly, and didn’t come close to the reliability standards set by Honda and Toyota, but they got decent fuel economy and were competent in mud and snow.

Subarus were quite rare in the United States back in the Malaise Era, but the marque made it into popular culture with songs like this one.

Or this one.Judging by the quantity of pine cones and animal nests in this car, it hasn’t run for many, many years.Not many places in Colorado damp enough for moss to grow on cars.Sold in Colorado, will be crushed in Colorado.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/11/junkyard-find-1978-subaru-leone-4wd-wagon/feed/27Junkyard Find: 1978 Fiat X1/9http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/08/junkyard-find-1978-fiat-x19-2/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/08/junkyard-find-1978-fiat-x19-2/#commentsThu, 01 Aug 2013 13:00:12 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=497724We had an orange ’78 X1/9 Junkyard Find yesterday, so let’s stay in the Microsoft Windows Hot Dog Stand color range and follow up that Fiat with another ’78. This car is also a Denver find, though not at the same junkyard as the orange car. Yes, Fiat USA advertised the X1/9 on television. Then […]

Yes, Fiat USA advertised the X1/9 on television. Then they split the country a bit later, leaving these cars to be marketed as Bertones by Malcolm “Yugo King” Bricklin.Can’t open the trunk? Mr. Smooth took matters into his own hands here.This one has the look of a car that hasn’t run since Reagan was in the White House, but the engine appears unmolested.Critters have made a comfy-looking nest inside.I think an X1/9 would make a good first project car for a teenager these days— it’s a cool old sports car that’s fun to drive, parts are easy to find, and an Alfa 164 engine swap makes them very quick.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/08/junkyard-find-1978-fiat-x19-2/feed/44Junkyard Find: 1978 Fiat X1/9http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/07/junkyard-find-1978-fiat-x19/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/07/junkyard-find-1978-fiat-x19/#commentsWed, 31 Jul 2013 13:00:50 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=497573For decades now, the Fiat 124 Sport Spider has been a regular sight in American self-service wrecking yards. The mid-engined Fiat X1/9, based on a healthy serving of Fiat 128 components, has been a bit less commonplace in such yards, but I still see them every now and then. We’ve seen this ’80 and this […]

]]>For decades now, the Fiat 124 Sport Spider has beenaregularsight in American self-service wrecking yards. The mid-engined Fiat X1/9, based on a healthy serving of Fiat 128 components, has been a bit less commonplace in such yards, but I still see them every now and then. We’ve seen this ’80 and this ’86 so far in this series, and today we’re adding a brightly colored ’78 to the collection.The X1/9 is one of those cars that manages to rust anywhere. These cars will rust in Los Angeles, they’ll rust in Phoenix, and they rust very nicely in Denver (which is where I found this one). Every time I see one of these side scoops, I’m reminded of the X1/9 scoops I installed in the hood of my ’65 Impala.This car is a beyond-sane-hope-of-repair basket case, but it still has quite a few useful parts. Some of you may recognize this car as the neighbor of the ’93 Honda del Sol we saw last week.I’ve driven a fair number of miles in X1/9s, and they’re much more fun than the 65-horsepower engine rating would suggest.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/07/junkyard-find-1978-fiat-x19/feed/33Junkyard Find: 1978 Mercedes-Benz 300Dhttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/04/junkyard-find-1978-mercedes-benz-300d/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/04/junkyard-find-1978-mercedes-benz-300d/#commentsThu, 11 Apr 2013 13:00:47 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=484327After finding a couple of Mercedes-Benz W123 coupes for this series, I decided to shoot the next four-door version of this legendary machine that I spotted. Here’s one in solid, stolid brown. It’s pretty tough to beat the diesel W123 for sturdy construction and utter lack of corner-cutting in the build-quality department. These cars cost […]

]]>After finding a coupleof Mercedes-BenzW123 coupes for this series, I decided to shoot the next four-door version of this legendary machine that I spotted. Here’s one in solid, stolid brown.It’s pretty tough to beat the diesel W123 for sturdy construction and utter lack of corner-cutting in the build-quality department. These cars cost plenty, and their owners (usually) got their money’s worth. The price tag for a new 300D in 1978 was $20,911. That’s close to 75 grand in 2013 bucks, for a slow car that was reasonably luxurious but utterly bling-free.This one made it to just 216,623 miles during its 35 years on the planet. Not bad, but a bit low for one of these cars.Once it got a little battered and its interior was no longer so nice, this car’s days were numbered. Most likely, something broke that would cost more than a couple hundred bucks to fix, and the owner just gave up on the car.Here it is, the legendary OM617 five-cylinder diesel. Not a lot of power, but ready for Armageddon!Some junkyard shopper thought about getting the grille, but then left it behind.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/04/junkyard-find-1978-mercedes-benz-300d/feed/52Junkyard Find: 1978 Mercedes-Benz 300CDhttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/11/junkyard-find-1978-mercedes-benz-300cd/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/11/junkyard-find-1978-mercedes-benz-300cd/#commentsMon, 26 Nov 2012 14:00:17 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=467905Mercedes-Benz W123 coupes aren’t so easy to find these days, though I was able to spot this Crusher-bound ’78 280CE last year. Last week, in a different Denver-area yard, I ran across today’s find: an oil-burning ’78 300CD. With the 3-liter OM617 five-cylinder diesel engine, a strong contender for the Most Reliable Car Engine of […]

]]>Mercedes-Benz W123 coupes aren’t so easy to find these days, though I was able to spot this Crusher-bound ’78 280CE last year. Last week, in a different Denver-area yard, I ran across today’s find: an oil-burning ’78 300CD.With the 3-liter OM617 five-cylinder diesel engine, a strong contender for the Most Reliable Car Engine of All Time Award, these things usually get scrapped only when they get too ugly to be worth fixing. 236,529 miles isn’t much for one of these cars.The W123 coupes were sort of frivolous purchases at the time— if you wanted just two doors in your German luxury car, you were expected to get a BMW 6 Series and maybe a gold razor-blade medallion to get tangled in your exposed chest hair.This one isn’t rusty and the body is pretty straight, but fixing the trashed interior wasn’t worth the cost to its final owner.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/11/junkyard-find-1978-mercedes-benz-300cd/feed/35Junkyard Find: 1978 Datsun 810 Wagonhttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/10/junkyard-find-1978-datsun-810-wagon/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/10/junkyard-find-1978-datsun-810-wagon/#commentsSun, 07 Oct 2012 13:00:25 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=462842The Datsun 810 became the Nissan Maxima a couple of years into the 1980s, and you rarely see the 810 nameplate these days. Every once in a while, however, an 810 shows up in The Crusher’s waiting room. Here’s a ’78 wagon I found in California last month. The 810 shared quite a few components […]

]]>The Datsun 810 became the Nissan Maxima a couple of years into the 1980s, and you rarely see the 810 nameplate these days. Every once in a while, however, an 810 shows up in The Crusher’s waiting room. Here’s a ’78 wagon I found in California last month.The 810 shared quite a few components with the 280Z, including the six-cylinder L engine. By 1978, the Z cars had 2.8 liter L28s, but the 810 got the 2.4 liter L24 out of the older 240Z.The 810 wagon, with its need to carry heavy loads, didn’t get the independent rear suspension of the Z and the 810 coupes and sedans.While modern-day drivers would consider this car intolerably cramped, it was sold as a fairly luxurious and high-tech machine back in the late 1970s.Look at this engineer-designed array of warning lights!The original purchaser of this Datsun opted for the three-speed automatic transmission. With 125 horsepower out of the L24, this car wouldn’t have been quite as slow as most slushboxed-up Japanese cars of the era.A Ford Windsor V8 is a pretty easy swap into the engine compartment of a 280Z, which means the same swap should work in an 810 wagon. What a fine parts-hauling setup that would make!

This ad is for the sedan, but still gives a good idea of the “yacht-grade” luxury Nissan was after with the 810.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/10/junkyard-find-1978-datsun-810-wagon/feed/29Junkyard Find: 1978 Lotus Esprithttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/09/junkyard-find-1978-lotus-esprit/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/09/junkyard-find-1978-lotus-esprit/#commentsTue, 11 Sep 2012 13:00:46 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=459807In all my years of crawling around in high-turnover self-service wrecking yards, not to mention old-timey slow-turnover wrecking yards, this is the first Lotus I’ve found. And it’s not just some boring Eclat— it’s a genuine mid-engined Elite! Granted, it’s been picked over pretty thoroughly… Someone with a Sawzall got most of the fiberglass body, […]

]]>In all my years of crawling around in high-turnover self-service wrecking yards, not to mention old-timey slow-turnover wrecking yards, this is the first Lotus I’ve found. And it’s not just some boring Eclat— it’s a genuine mid-engined Elite! Granted, it’s been picked over pretty thoroughly…Someone with a Sawzall got most of the fiberglass body, but you can see hints of Lotus-ness here and there.Thanks to all the valueless Jensen-Healeys out there, the Lotus 907 engine isn’t difficult to find these days. However, the transaxle in this car might be worth pulling.Veglia gauges with what I assume are Lucas Electrics components— such a reliable combination!

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/09/junkyard-find-1978-lotus-esprit/feed/19Junkyard Find: 1978 Datsun B210 Coupehttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/08/junkyard-find-1978-datsun-b210-coupe/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/08/junkyard-find-1978-datsun-b210-coupe/#commentsFri, 17 Aug 2012 13:00:42 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=456787We saw a 1975 Datsun B210 hatchback Junkyard Find a few weeks back, and this ’74 B210 hatch about a year ago. Today, we’ll look at a fairly solid example of the B210 coupe. This is a car that was once as numerous on American streets as is any mainstream 21st-century econobox today, but the […]

]]>We saw a 1975 Datsun B210 hatchback Junkyard Find a few weeks back, and this ’74 B210 hatch about a year ago. Today, we’ll look at a fairly solid example of the B210 coupe.This is a car that was once as numerous on American streets as is any mainstream 21st-century econobox today, but the B210 was even more susceptible to rust than other Japanese cars of the era and it didn’t resist depreciation quite as well as its Corolla and Civic rivals.For those of you too young to have experienced slushbox-equipped B210s in person, imagine that you’re driving a Chevy Aveo. In quicksand. Towing a trailer loaded with overflowing Porta-Potties. Uphill.Still, if you were patient on freeway onramps and didn’t mind losing stoplight drag races to cement mixers, the B210 was a pleasant enough car to drive. The purchaser of this one sprang for the no-doubt-extremely-expensive factory AM/FM radio.Once you’ve paid for the radio, however, why would you want frivolous gauges?I can’t recall whether this style hubcap was a Honey Bee-only design or slapped on all B210s of the era.

The fuel-economy claims of Malaise Era manufacturers had to be taken with a grain of salt, but the real-world B210 did manage to get into the 40 MPG range on the highway.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/08/junkyard-find-1978-datsun-b210-coupe/feed/23Junkyard Find: 1977 and 1978 Ford Mustangshttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/08/junkyard-find-1977-and-1978-ford-mustangs/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/08/junkyard-find-1977-and-1978-ford-mustangs/#commentsWed, 15 Aug 2012 13:00:01 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=456736The Mustang II stands as the poster child of the Malaise Era; based on a miserable economy car yet bearing the name of a beloved icon from a more optimistic period. You don’t see many Mustang IIs these days, for obvious reasons, but a few are being kept alive by enthusiasts. Here’s a pair of […]

]]>The Mustang II stands as the poster child of the Malaise Era; based on a miserable economy car yet bearing the name of a beloved icon from a more optimistic period. You don’t see many Mustang IIs these days, for obvious reasons, but a few are being kept alive by enthusiasts. Here’s a pair of well-stripped examples that appear to have come from the reject bin of a Mustang II collector.The ’78 has King Cobra decals on the doors. Could it be one of the very rare 1978-only King Cobra Mustang IIs?Well, maybe, but there’s no King Cobra decal on the hood, and the underside of the hood has this emissions sticker for the never-installed-in-the-King-Cobra 2.8 liter Cologne V6. Maybe it’s a King Cobra with a hood swap, or an ordinary V6 Mustang with a door swap, or a random collection of Mustang II parts with King Cobra decals slapped on.Whatever it is, we must admire the 70s-ness of the T-tops. Sure, all T-tops leaked like crazy, but that’s like saying that Quaaludes had unpleasant side effects.Then there’s the ’77, which has a sort of Harlequin Mustang II effect with its multicolored body components.If the chrome Moroso air cleaner don’t fit, cut a hole! Then, when you put your hot-rod 351W engine in some other Pinto family member, apply duct tape over the hole to keep the rain off the 2300.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/08/junkyard-find-1977-and-1978-ford-mustangs/feed/43Junkyard Find: 1978 Mercedes-Benz 450SLChttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/06/junkyard-find-1978-mercedes-benz-450slc/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/06/junkyard-find-1978-mercedes-benz-450slc/#commentsMon, 04 Jun 2012 14:00:57 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=447391The Mercedes-Benz R107/C107 is one of those cars that tends to be valued according to a binary system: a near-perfect example sells for a healthy five-figure sum, while one that’s even slightly beat is worth about as much as an ’86 Nissan Sentra with an alarming rod knock and a glovebox full of used syringes. […]

]]>The Mercedes-Benz R107/C107 is one of those cars that tends to be valued according to a binary system: a near-perfect example sells for a healthy five-figure sum, while one that’s even slightly beat is worth about as much as an ’86 Nissan Sentra with an alarming rod knock and a glovebox full of used syringes. That means that examples of Mercedes-Benz’s SL-Class machine of the 1970s and 1980s are not at all uncommon in self-service wrecking yards.At the same time, most car freaks who never set foot in wrecking yards just can’t believe that you can get running 107s for pretty close to scrap value. The outcry of “that ain’t no $500 car!” that I heard when Rally Baby Racing‘s 1975 450SL showed up to to the Real Hoopties of New Jersey 24 Hours of LeMons was just deafening. Rally Baby applied the large economy size bucket of Bondo to their car, than shot a looks-great-from-100-feet coat of silver paint onto it while in a dirt field at New Jersey Motorsports Park on the night before the race. Bugs in the paint and all, this (street-registered) race car looks so good that I’ve been trying to buy it ever since.Most of the junkyard R107s I’ve seen have been the 80s-coke-dealer-motor-pool 560SL, and they’re much more common in California yards than here in Denver. Still, I know that if Rally Baby Racing ever retires their race car and sells it to me (or if I build one myself) I’ll have no problem finding parts.It’s hard to beat a red leather interior if you want to be King of the Malaise Era.From the finger-bustingly cramped engine compartment stuffed full of 4.5 liters of overhead-cam V8 to the bewildering electrical system to the über-upscale interior pieces, these cars are challenging for the backyard mechanic and utter nightmares to restore if you want a really nice one.They’re also shockingly heavy for their size and not particularly quick; the ’78 450SLC had 180 horsepower to move 3,715 pounds.What was the original price tag on this totally-used-up Benz? $27,090, or about $95,500 in 2012 dollars.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/06/junkyard-find-1978-mercedes-benz-450slc/feed/47Junkyard Find: 1978 Ford Fiesta Sporthttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/05/junkyard-find-1978-ford-fiesta-sport/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/05/junkyard-find-1978-ford-fiesta-sport/#commentsMon, 28 May 2012 13:00:28 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=446407We saw a junked first-year Plymouth Horizon last week, but Chrysler’s Simca-based econobox wasn’t the only Euro-Detroito subcompact to make its North American debut in 1978. The first-gen Ford Fiesta, which had been a tremendous sales success in Europe, showed up in American Ford showrooms… where it was met by puzzled stares from car shoppers […]

]]>We saw a junked first-year Plymouth Horizon last week, but Chrysler’s Simca-based econobox wasn’t the only Euro-Detroito subcompact to make its North American debut in 1978. The first-gen Ford Fiesta, which had been a tremendous sales success in Europe, showed up in American Ford showrooms… where it was met by puzzled stares from car shoppers who couldn’t quite get their heads around the tiny size of the latest car to bear the blue oval.

Still, the Fiesta was very cheap ($300 less than even the bare-bones Horizon), it held four passengers, and its excellent fuel economy gave drivers a measure of freedom from the whims of sheikh and ayatollahs.66 horsepower in a car scaling in at 1,780 pounds made the Fiesta quicker than the ’78 MGB (2,338 pounds, 62.5 horsepower). Actually, that’s not a fair comparison; just about every car in 1978 was quicker than the black-bumper MGB.The “Sport” option package added $556 to the Fiesta’s price tag. I can’t figure out what you got for that money beyond the “S” decals and tape stripes; it appears that all the US Fiestas got the same engine in ’78.Even back in the day, you didn’t see many Fiestas on American streets. Before this one, I hadn’t even seen one in the junkyard for a few years.
If you’re interested in the history of the Fiesta, I recommend this Ford-backed (yet still fascinating) book.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/05/junkyard-find-1978-ford-fiesta-sport/feed/57Junkyard Find: 1978 Plymouth Horizonhttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/05/junkyard-find-1978-plymouth-horizon/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/05/junkyard-find-1978-plymouth-horizon/#commentsSat, 26 May 2012 13:00:05 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=446120Yesterday’s Junkyard Find was one of the better-known examples of the Simca-based “Omnirizon” platform, and you still see 80s Dodge Chargers here and there. What you won’t see often is today’s Junkyard Find, a first-year Plymouth Horizon. I found this one languishing in a Denver self-serve junkyard. This car was the first true subcompact car […]

]]>Yesterday’s Junkyard Find was one of the better-known examples of the Simca-based “Omnirizon” platform, and you still see 80s Dodge Chargers here and there. What you won’t see often is today’s Junkyard Find, a first-year Plymouth Horizon. I found this one languishing in a Denver self-serve junkyard.This car was the first true subcompact car Chrysler ever built in North America, and it (along with its Dodge sibling, the Omni, and the French-market Talbot/Simca Horizon) was a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Prior to the Omnirizon, the only subcompacts sold by Chrysler in the United States had been rebadged Mitsubishis, Hillmans, and Simcas, all built overseas.The Plymouth Horizon was an Americanized version of a Chrysler of Europe design, and it wasn’t any more miserable to drive than other front-drive subcompacts of the late 1970s (e.g., the Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Rabbit, Datsun 310). If that sounds like faint praise, remember that expectations were lower during the depths of the Malaise Era.The ’78 Horizon listed at $3,976, which was actually 200 bucks more than a new Plymouth Volaré two-door (but $250 less than a new Rabbit). With gas prices and inflation soaring year after year, however, the gas-sipping Horizon looked like a good deal next to the much thirstier (and not much roomier) Volaré.You see some odd little luxury touches in this otherwise minimalist econobox. Look, “wood” on the glovebox door!The Omni, Horizon, and their L-body variants continued production in the United States until 1990. By that time, the mid-70s-ness of the design had become a bit embarrassing for Chrysler.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/05/junkyard-find-1978-plymouth-horizon/feed/65Junkyard Find: 1978 Datsun 510 Sedanhttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/03/junkyard-find-1978-datsun-510-sedan/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/03/junkyard-find-1978-datsun-510-sedan/#commentsThu, 15 Mar 2012 13:00:04 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=435066Wait a minute— this Malaise Era heap, with its solid rear axle and AMC Hornet-esque lines, this car can’t be a 510! That’s what I thought when I spotted this car at a Northern California self-service yard last month, having forgotten that Nissan’s American marketers slapped 510 badges on the 710/Violet/Stanza/200B for the ’78 and […]

]]>Wait a minute— this Malaise Era heap, with its solid rear axle and AMC Hornet-esque lines, this car can’t be a 510! That’s what I thought when I spotted this car at a Northern California self-service yard last month, having forgotten that Nissan’s American marketers slapped 510 badges on the 710/Violet/Stanza/200B for the ’78 and ’79 model years. This is the first time I’ve seen one of these things in at least 20 years.This car was no doubt a perfectly serviceable commuter, with its L20 engine and nicer-than-the-Chevette interior, but it’s no more a 510 than the ’91 Olds Calais Quad 4 was a 442.This factory FM radio was probably a $300 option when new. Yes, the old days sucked in many ways.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/03/junkyard-find-1978-datsun-510-sedan/feed/30Junkyard Find: 1978 Volkswagen Transporterhttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/03/junkyard-find-1978-volkswagen-transporter/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/03/junkyard-find-1978-volkswagen-transporter/#commentsTue, 06 Mar 2012 14:00:15 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=432301Like the Fiat 124 Sport Spider, your typical second-gen VW Transporter typically spends many years as a never-started project in a back yard or driveway (because everyone loves an air-cooled VW bus!), then washes ashore at a junkyard. I’ve been seeing these vans in about the same numbers in junkyards for a couple of decades […]

]]>Like the Fiat 124 Sport Spider, your typical second-gen VW Transporter typically spends many years as a never-started project in a back yard or driveway (because everyone loves an air-cooled VW bus!), then washes ashore at a junkyard. I’ve been seeing these vans in about the same numbers in junkyards for a couple of decades now, even as only the nicest street-driven examples have been kept alive. Here’s a ’78 with some extremely Malaise-y custom touches that I spotted in a Colorado yard last week.It’s hard to imagine anything more 70s than a brown Transporter with hideous crypto-Native-American custom striping, also in shades of brown.Like most junkyard VW vans, this one sat for many, many years before taking its final tow-truck ride.The question here is: did the van’s final owner store the engine inside, or was it placed there by a junkyard customer who pulled the engine and then decided not to buy it?It’s not especially rusty, by air-cooled VW standards (i.e., it’s not a vaguely vehicle-shaped red stain on the pavement), but it’s pretty much used up. Next stop: Crusher!

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/03/junkyard-find-1978-volkswagen-transporter/feed/65Junkyard Find: 1977 Datsun 280Zhttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/03/junkyard-find-1977-datsun-280z/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/03/junkyard-find-1977-datsun-280z/#commentsThu, 01 Mar 2012 14:00:29 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=432187After a couple of 1970s Italian sports cars for our last two Junkyard Finds, it’s time to look at the Japanese competition. Malaise Era Z Cars are not uncommon in California junkyards, and I spotted this fairly rough example in an Oakland yard last month. Judging by the extremely weathered paint, I’m guessing this car […]

]]>After a couple of 1970s Italian sports cars for our last two Junkyard Finds, it’s time to look at the Japanese competition. Malaise Era Z Cars are not uncommon in California junkyards, and I spotted this fairly rough example in an Oakland yard last month.Judging by the extremely weathered paint, I’m guessing this car spent at least a decade in outdoor storage, getting fried by the Northern California summer sun and picking up body rust during the rainy Northern California winters.The old-school Raiders sticker, from the era before the team went to Los Angeles, indicates that this car is an East Bay native.The L28 engine in the ’77 280Z made 149 horsepower in a 2,628-pound car, pretty decent numbers for the time. The ’77 Corvette weighed 3,448 pounds and had 210 horses (if you got the optional L82 engine), which gave the Chevy a slight power-to-weight advantage… and a price tag of $9,143 versus the Z’s $6,999.The Camaro is probably a fairer comparison to the 280Z, however, given the similar demographics of the two cars’ purchasers. A ’77 Z28 with the optional 170-horse 350 sold for $5,380 and weighed 3,529 pounds. Which would you have bought? This debate could go on and on.Early catalytic converters tended to run very, very hot, and cars not initially designed for them sometimes had less-than-optimal cat locations. If the floor above the cat got too hot, this warning light would come on, probably after the carpeting started to smolder. Fiat’s approach to the same problem was a “SLOW DOWN” light.There’s no telling the significance of this 70s-vintage vanity plate.Though this car doesn’t seem to suffer from rust-through problems, you can still get much nicer 280Z project cars in California for reasonable prices. Some of this car’s parts will live on in one of those cars.

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/03/junkyard-find-1977-datsun-280z/feed/34When You See a Clean Corinthian Leather Bench Seat In the Junkyard, You Buy It!http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/01/when-you-see-a-clean-corinthian-leather-bench-seat-in-the-junkyard-you-buy-it/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/01/when-you-see-a-clean-corinthian-leather-bench-seat-in-the-junkyard-you-buy-it/#commentsThu, 26 Jan 2012 18:00:52 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=428125When I saw the interior of today’s Junkyard Find, I knew: I must have that Corinthian Leather bench seat! Maybe I’ll put it in the back of my ’66 Dodge A100 van, or maybe I’ll just convert it into a comfy, Ricardo Montalban-grade garage couch. Either way, I returned to the junkyard yesterday with a […]

]]>When I saw the interior of today’s Junkyard Find, I knew: I must have that Corinthian Leather bench seat! Maybe I’ll put it in the back of my ’66 Dodge A100 van, or maybe I’ll just convert it into a comfy, Ricardo Montalban-grade garage couch. Either way, I returned to the junkyard yesterday with a sense of grim determination: that seat will be mine!It’s very rare that you find a 34-year-old car in a wrecking yard with a front seat in this condition. No rips, no cracking, hardly any staining. I’m guessing that the car’s owner kept it garaged and safe from the upholstery-frying Colorado sun, and perhaps he or she even kept a seat cover over the front bench.Those of you who know old Chrysler products are familiar with this seat-mounting system: studs going through the car’s floor, held in place by nuts on the underside of the car. Yes, where they’re exposed to salt, dirt, roadkill, and big rocks.I knew what to expect, so I’d brought some deep sockets and my grungiest coveralls. The weather in Denver had been chilly for a week or so, but yesterday got into the low 60s. Hooray, icy mud under the car!I threw some old floor mats under the car and crawled beneath. The bench seat in a Cordoba is held in with four nuts and big washers, just like all the Mopars of its era. While I removed the first three nuts, I recalled a prank pulled on me while driving a ’73 Fury in high school: some clever friend removed all four seat nuts in my car, so that when I stepped on the gas the seat (with me in it) flew all the way into the back seat. I must say that got my attention; fortunately, I was able to crawl forward and jam my hand on the brake pedal before the car hit anything expensive.When I got to the nut holding the front of the driver’s side of the seat in place, my heart sank. Yes, that’s a junkyard jack-stand (i.e., two steel wheels welded together) blocking access to the last seat mounting nut. Damn.By this time, I was pretty well chilled by the semi-frozen mud beneath the car (having spent most of my life in California, this snow-and-ice-at-the-junkyard business is still a new phenomenon to me) and started considering my options. The most attractive option involved finding a jack, preferably of the old-school bumper-ratchet variety, in the trunk of a nearby car and just lifting the car enough to move the jack-stand. No dice: this yard clears all the jacks out of the cars when they show up. I considered asking the yard employees to use the forklift to reposition the car, but I’ve had bad experiences with this sort of thing; lots of times, resentful junkyard workers will not only refuse to help, they’ll come back later and vandalize the part you wanted to get.However, there was a third option. If I cut the parking-brake cables and bent the brake line out of the way, I might be able to sneak a wrench over the top of the jack-stand and get it onto the nut. Here goes the brake cable.At this point, I should apologize for the crappy quality of these cell-phone photos; I was in such a rush to get out the door and grab my Corinthian Leather prize that I forgot to bring a proper camera. But even with a phone camera, you can see that it is just barely possible to get a 1/2″ wrench onto the offending nut. It turned out that it was also possible to get about 1/16th of a turn with the wrench before it fell off and clattered into the mud. Repeat. Endlessly.After about 45 minutes of profanity-enhanced wrench-dropping fun, I was able to get the nut far enough down the threads to get a quarter-drive socket onto it. Success!My junkyard toolbox doesn’t have the 7/8″ socket I’d need to remove the seat belts (which couldn’t be pulled out of the seats), the driver’s-side lap belt had been cut already, and so I sliced them with a knife. I hate doing this, but 70s Chrysler seat belts are easy to find.I’d brought a hand truck, an old sheet, and some rope, and I hoped to get the seat out to my car without getting it too muddy. This thing probably weighs 80 pounds.I couldn’t resist removing and buying the opera lights on the C pillars. These will look good in the interior of my A100.I should have tied the seat to the roof of my cargo-hauling Civic, but instead I got lazy and brought the Outback. Hey, got to keep that white Corinthian Leather in good shape!

]]>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/01/when-you-see-a-clean-corinthian-leather-bench-seat-in-the-junkyard-you-buy-it/feed/47Junkyard Find: 1978 Chrysler Cordobahttp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/01/junkyard-find-1978-chrysler-cordoba/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/01/junkyard-find-1978-chrysler-cordoba/#commentsThu, 26 Jan 2012 14:00:08 +0000http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=428086We all make fun of the Cordoba now, but we mustn’t forget that Chrysler’s personal luxury coupe sold quite well back in the day, helping slow the company’s slide towards what appeared to be certain doom. I’m going to follow up yesterday’s junked early-70s personal luxury coupe with one built a little later in the […]

]]>We all make fun of the Cordoba now, but we mustn’t forget that Chrysler’s personal luxury coupe sold quite well back in the day, helping slow the company’s slide towards what appeared to be certain doom. I’m going to follow up yesterday’s junked early-70s personal luxury coupe with one built a little later in the decade. Yes, the Cordoba was once a fairly common sight on North American roads. It was based on Chrysler’s venerable B platform, which means this car is a close relative of the General Lee and the Plymouth Superbird.

Of course, what we all remember about the Cordoba (which Chrysler’s marketers decided to pronounce with the stress on the second syllable, rather than the way the residents of its namesake city— Córdoba, Spain— do it) is Ricardo Montalban’s TV ads. Even if your parents weren’t even born when the Cordoba was new, you know about “soft Corinthian Leather.” Yes, that’s soft, not rich. You’ll win some trivia contests with that knowledge.Speaking of soft Corinthian Leather, check out this comfy living room of a car interior! By 1978, the Corinthian Leather seats (technically an option, but I’ve yet to see a Cordoba with the base velour seats) in the Cordoba were a little less pimpin’ than the ’75 model’s deep-tufted buckets, but they still made shoppers in the Chrysler/Plymouth showroom feel they were being cheap for even considering the Fury and its cheapo vinyl upholstery. Yes, I went back and bought this car’s bench seat.

By the time of the Cordoba’s fourth model year, sales were declining a bit. Ricardo was still helping to move that iron, though!360 cubic inches. How many horses? Who cares? Soft Corinthian Leather!What happened to opera lights on Detroit luxury machines? Let’s import some opera lights from Detroit for the ’13 Chryslers!That’s AM and FM radio right there. There was a time, believe it or not, when thieves would steal factory FM radios.Including the steering wheel, fenders, door panels, and taillight lenses, I counted seven of these “golden” Cordoba medallions on the car. I believe there should be one more for the hood ornament, but this example (found in a Denver self-service yard) lacks that component.Then there’s the Cordoba badging on the trunklid, fenders, and dash.The original Cordoba “chronometer” was a mechanical-digital deal, but Chrysler found a source for an LED (or maybe green fluorescent) version. I might have to go back and get this fine clock for my collection, to accompany the beautiful digital clock I pulled from this ’80 Toyota Cressida.“I know my own needs, and what I need from an automobile I get from this new… Cordoba.”